John jay co well



2 Sheets-Sheet; l.

(Model.)

J. J. COWELL. TRUNK CATCH.

Patented May l2, 1885.

Jul/'enfon- J aow@ u, van

N. PEIERS, Phabljnwgrapher, wamnmm. D. c.

2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

(Model.)

J. J. COWELL.

I TRUNK CATCH. No. 317,736.

Patented May 12, 1885.

6156665 Y Inventar M-UMM l/vndwy Cowell,

N. Przns. mammogram'. wnhzngwn. n. c,

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NITED STATES Parraivr Erica.

JOHN JAY COlELL, 0F NEWUUNC, KEWv JERSEY.

TRUNK-CATCH.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 317,736, dated May 12, 1885..

Application tiled January 9, 1885.

To @ZZ whom it may concern:

citizen of the United States, residing at Newark, in the county of Essex and State ot' New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Trunk-Catches, and l do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear,

y being provided with a rigid tongue or dowel,

and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, ret'- erence being had to the accompanying drawings, and to letters of reference marked thereon, which forni a part of this specification.

The object of this invention is to reduce the cost of construction, to lessen the number of parts, to so arrange said parts that they will be less liable to be disarranged or broken when subjected to the usual rough treatment,

. and to better the quality ot' the catch without increasing thc cost thereofthat is to say, to produce at a given cost a catch that will give a louder ring when the parts are snapped together, which ring or peculiar sound is indicative of the iirnmess and strength or quality of said catch.

(Model plate to the valance. Fig. ll is a sectional Be 1t known that I, JOHN JAY CowELL, a i

view through line y ot' said cover-plate; and Fig. 12 is apcrspective view of a portion ot' said plate, showing more clearly the especial features thereof.

ln said drawings, indicates the trunk-cover plate, and I) the trunk-body plate, the former c, which extends down below the edge d of said cover-plate, so as to enter into a box on the body-plate, and thus prevent any considerable lateral inotion to the other. Said tongue c is provided with a hook or holdinglug, c, which projects from the dowel to receive a hasp in the box of said body. The trunkbody plate b is formed with a projectin g case or box,f, at its top, the upper edge oi' which is rounded, as at g, to guide the hasp to a proper position in the said box. `The under side of the box, and the plate below the same, are open to allow a passage therein to a springhasp, 71, and a finger-piece, fi, the lower portion. ofthe opening being crossed by a bar, The lower portion ofthe plate acts as abeary ing, t', ior the hasp, the eye 7; in said bearing The invention consists in the ar 1an gements Referring to the accompanying.;` two sheets of drawings, in which like letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in each ot' the several figures, Figure lis a i'rontelevation of the improved catch 5 Fig. 2, a sectional view of the same, taken through tbc vertical center thereof. Fig. 3 is a back elevation ot' the catch; Fig. 4, a front elevation ot' the trunkcover plate in detail. Fig. 5 is a detail side view ofthe trunk-body plate. Fig. 6 is an enlarged sectional view, showing more clearly the mode ot' arranging a certain spring-hasp or catching-spring upon the trunk-body plate to prevent longitudinal motion thereof. Fig. 7 is a detail perspective view of a peculiar linger-piece or lever for throwing the said spring-hasp from holding engagement with the trunk-cover plate. Fig. 8 is a front elevation of the trunk-cover plate attached to the valance of a trunk 5 and Fig. 9 is a section ot' the same, taken through line x. Fig. l0, Sheet 2, is a front elevation of the catch, showing a preferred manner of secnrin g the coverto receive the fastening-nail being provided with an inwardly-proiecting rim, I, which serves to enter a perforation, m, in the hasp, as shown in Figs. 2 and 6, said hasp heilig held, when placed thereon, from moving longitudinall y. From the lower bearin thus described the hasp extends upward and slightly forward, so as to pass in front ot' the cross-bar, and bears against the back of the lever, holding the saine in the sidebearings, n. rEhe said lever in turn bears against the spring to hold it in place against the cross-bar and lower bearing, and to hold the working end ot'thc spring-hasp back from the portion g, to form a mouth to receive the vtongue c, the spring-hasp and lever each co-operatin to hold the other in position.

Below the side bearings, a, are formed stops o, which serve to prevent the lever from falling against the face ci' the plate b, holding it out therefrom to allow the linger to readily be inserted under the levcr,that the latter may be raised without any inconvenience.

The upper end of the spring-hasp is perforated to engage the hook or holding-lug e, and said hasp terminates at a point ilush with or below thc edge oi'theplatc, to protect the hasp,

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which, being composed of comparatively light spring metal, would otherwise be easily damaged should it come in contact with extraneous substances. The lever, working in the fulcrumal bearing ln, engages with the hasp at a point between the bearing j and catching perforation. The lever is provided with lateral fulcruinal projection p p, to engage the bearings nu, acon tracted'neck,q, to work in the opening in the plate expanded bearings yr fr on 'the linger portion of the lever to engage the stops o o above mentioned and a cam projection or projections, s s, lying eccentric to the fulcrumal bearings.

To facilitate the process of fastening the j cover-plate to the valance of the trunk, I provide the said plate with an armar, which passes backward from the plate a and bears against f the back of the valance, as indicated in Figs. 10 and 11, clamping the plate to the valance. Said arm is provided with a lug or teat, @which projects forward from the arm to enter aperforation in the valance and hold said plate up in position on said valance without riveting', the arm bein g simply bent or sprnn g to bring the said rteat into the perforation. The parts thus constructed and arranged are held together for transportation without the trouble and expense of riveting, parts heretofore exposed are protected, and the device can be secured to the trunk easily and without riveting to the valance.

It is understood that the relation ot' the body and cover-plates may be reversed without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Havin g thus described the invei'ltion, what I claim as new isl. In combination, the plate ai, having a projecting dowel, c. with a backwardly-extending lug or teat at the rear thereof, and a plate, b,

2. In combination, in a trunk-catch, the plate a, provided with dowel c and holdinglug e, and a plate, b, having the upper portion,

, g, and bearings j t', a springhasp arranged on said bearings, and a lever held in its bearings by said hasp, and in turn holding said hasp i back from the portion g to allow the insertion i of the dowel and holding-lug between,lsub

stantially as shown and described.

3. In combination, the plate b, having bearings, as at t and j for the spring-hasp, said spring-hasp being perforated to catch a lug on the upper plate and bearing against the lever t, and said lever t' fulcrumed between bearings n n, and adapted to throw said spring from said catch, and the plate a, having the catching-lug to receive the spring, said parts being arranged and operating substantially l as and for the purposes set forth.

4. ln a trunk-catch, the combination of the plate b, having bearings n n, with a lever arranged between said bearings, and stops o, adapted to hold the lever away from the face of the plate, said lever z' having bearings r r,

having a spring-hasj) lying within said plate,

a rigid bearing, j, to throw said spring-hasp aga-inst said lug, and a lever fnlcrumed on said i projecting laterally to engage said stops, substantiall y as and for the purposes set forth.

5. In a trunk-catch, a plate perforated to be secured to the trunk, one of the perforations being provided with a rim ,Z,to receive a spring, h, in combination with said spring and a lever to throw the same substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

6. In a trunk-catch, the cover-plate provided with an arm, u, adapted to extend behind the trunkvalance, and a lug, t, extending forward from said lug to enter a perforation in said valance to operate in holding said plate to said valance, substantiallyT as set forth.

ln testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand this Sth day ot' January, 1885.

JOHN JAY COWELL.

Witnesses CHARLES H. PELL, OLIVER DRAKE. 

